Japan’s SBI group will pay its eSports team in XRP, according to an official announcement made on September 30.

• The SBI e-Sports team signed a sponsorship contract with SBI VC Trade Co
• Team members will be given the option of being paid in fiat or XRP
• SBI VC is SBI’s cryptocurrency exchange, which has been granted approval by Japanese regulators to operate in the country
• The company said that the goal of such deals is to “create and nurture a healthy market based on customer-centricity, improve prices, and expand liquidity”
• The SBI group is one of Ripple’s biggest backers; SBI Ripple Asia is working on XRP-based solutions for the region